Thailand, Part 2

Phutthamonthon.

Day two, and I take to Bangkok's comprehensive, and air-conditioned, bus system, aiming for Phutthamonthon, a sprawling landscaped garden / Buddhist sanctuary a little way out of the city.  Once out of the centre the bus moves swiftly enough, a pity it drops me a mile or so from my destination though... still, while I must now navigate a mile or so along a couple of motorways, there are pavements and footbridges.  It is worth it anyway, Phutthamonthon is rather nice, I must say if a country is going to spend money on religion this is the way to go.  You don't have to be a believer to enjoy the maze of water features, and the giant standing Buddha at the centre is most impressive, as are is the Marble Pali Canon Temple, where there are what seems like hundreds of man high marble tablets, each gold inlaid with Buddhist scripture.

Back in town, I enjoy some incredibly spicy soup, and a few beers, and find some live music at Bangkok institution Checkinn99 - has been there since the Vietnam War days, which counts as historic around here.  But anyway... I'm not here to hang around in the capital, so next morning I make my way to one of the rail terminals.  This is a tricky process involving the 'skytrain' (excellent, air-conditioned), a river ferry, and a mile walk.  The station resembles something from a village rather than a major city, while Thailand has a larger rail network than many of the surrounding countries, it still isn't much.

Thonburi Station.

The train is hot, even with every window fully open, but it is a good way to see the country, which to begin with is pretty flat.  I watch exotic birds startle at our passing and take to the air, they seem to keep pace with the train, which says something about our pace.  Even at this speed though the carriage wobbles alarmingly as we rattle over the tracks, and I wonder how well maintained this line is.  Eventually, hills appear to either side and start to close in, these are the foothills of the high country that marks the border with Myanmar.  For this is the famous Death Railway, built by prisoners of the Japanese during World War Two, and I am headed for the bridge on the River Kwai.

I don't quite make it... the train reaches Kanchanaburi where my hotel is, just a few miles from the bridge, half an hour late.  It then stops... nothing happens, and after half an hour I give up and head for my hotel.  It's a hot evening, and while my hotel has aircon, the rest of town seems not to have heard of it.  I have a good meal, drink a few beers, and play some pool with a lady who, of course, wants to go back to my hotel.  It's a bit too classy for that sort of thing though...

Riding the train west.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.